History Main / ItsQuietTooQuiet

* ''PersonOfInterest''. In "The Day The World Went Away", Reese and Fusco go to a office that they suspect is a front for criminal activity. After a few minutes in a waiting room, Reese says "What to you hear?" Fusco responds "Nothing." They realize the busy office has been evacuated, just before the hit squad arrives for them.

* In ''FanFic/RobbReturns'', Brynden Tully does not like the silence settling over the Bloody Gate, rightly fearing that the Vale clans may be planning something. [[spoiler:Fortunately, they are actually planning to leave for the North, following Ned's call to arms.]]

* This first developed from the fact that natural background noise in the wilderness will disappear when the animals making the noise are alerted to intruders. If you are in the woods, and everything suddenly goes quiet, it is a safe bet that [[ParanoiaFuel you are not alone]].** Inverted if you're hiking in bear country, in which case ''you'' being "too quiet" is more likely to get you killed, because you might unintentionally startle one into attacking.*** Applies to gorillas too. There's a documentary on gorillas where the documenteers constantly cleared their throats when they thought they might be near by, because apparently it's "good manners" for gorillas to grunt constantly when approaching another troop so as not to startle them by suddenly appearing.*** That probably applies with most animals, even domesticated and fairly placid ones. One of the first rules of handling horses is to make sure they don't suddenly get spooked because you've accidentally snuck up on them, and try to avoid walking in their blind spot for the same reason.** This applies to the ocean as well. Scuba divers have been warned to take note if all the fish disappear, as there's a good chance that they're fleeing a a predator--a shark, a giant squid, etc.

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* This first developed from the fact that natural background noise in the wilderness will disappear when the animals making the noise are alerted to intruders. If you are in the woods, and everything suddenly goes quiet, it is a safe bet that [[ParanoiaFuel you are not alone]].** Inverted if you're hiking in bear country, in which case ''you'' being "too quiet" is more likely to get you killed, because you might unintentionally startle one into attacking.*** Applies to gorillas too. There's a documentary on gorillas where the documenteers constantly cleared their throats when they thought they might be near by, because apparently it's "good manners" for gorillas to grunt constantly when approaching another troop so as not to startle them by suddenly appearing.*** That probably applies with most animals, even domesticated and fairly placid ones. One of the first rules of handling horses is to make sure they don't suddenly get spooked because you've accidentally snuck up on them, and try to avoid walking in their blind spot for the same reason.** This applies to the ocean as well. alone]]. Scuba divers have been are also warned to take note if all the fish disappear, as there's a good chance that they're fleeing a a predator--a shark, a giant squid, etc.

* JosefStalin demanded that no one around him ever walk quietly, because he was very paranoid about possible assassination. [[ProperlyParanoid Five assassination attempts could have something to do with that]].

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* JosefStalin UsefulNotes/JosefStalin demanded that no one around him ever walk quietly, because he was very paranoid about possible assassination. [[ProperlyParanoid Five assassination attempts could have something to do with that]].

* Happens twice in the 2003 ''[[TMNT2003 Ninja Turtles]]'' cartoon. The first time it's Leo who says it, and Mikey (who spends most of the episode trying to come up with cool lines) lampshades it by wondering how Leo makes it work. Mikey says it himself a few episodes later, and immediately adds that [[IAlwaysWantedToSayThat he'd always wanted to say it]].

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* Happens twice ''WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2003'':** Leo says it in the 2003 ''[[TMNT2003 Ninja Turtles]]'' cartoon. The first time it's Leo who says it, Garbageman episode, and Mikey (who spends most of the episode trying to come up with cool lines) lampshades it by wondering how Leo makes it work. work. ** Mikey says it himself a few episodes later, and immediately adds that [[IAlwaysWantedToSayThat he'd always wanted to say it]].

* Whenever a city has to be evacuated due to impending disaster, like a hurricane or a flood, it can lead to surreal images of practically deserted downtown streets in the days before the disaster hits.

** It can also be a subversion where the people have left because they know that soldiers are coming and that the insurgents will probably follow to try to blow the soldiers (and any civilians around them) up.

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** It can also be a subversion where the people have left because they know that the soldiers are coming and that the insurgents will probably follow to try to blow the soldiers (and any civilians around them) up.

* Taken UpToEleven with Anechoic Chambers, which are designed to negate the reflection of sound. They are so quiet that you can hear your own heartbeat, stomach gurgles, and respiration. The lack of sound is so disorienting that it becomes easy to lose your balance. They've been known to cause hallucinations similar to a sensory deprivation tank if someone stays in for too long (as little as 15 minutes if the lights are turned off), and the longest a person has been recorded sitting in the most effective ones is about 45 minutes before demanding to be let out.

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* Taken UpToEleven with Anechoic Chambers, which Chambers are designed to negate the reflection of sound. They are so quiet that you can hear your own heartbeat, stomach gurgles, and respiration. The lack of sound is so disorienting that it becomes easy to lose your balance. They've been known to cause hallucinations similar to a sensory deprivation tank if someone stays in for too long (as little as 15 minutes if the lights are turned off), and the longest a person has been recorded sitting in the most effective ones is about 45 minutes before demanding to be let out.

* Germany's greatest defensive tactician of 1943-44, General Gottfried Heinrici, was famed for an almost psychic talent for predicting when a Soviet Combined-Arms Army was about to begin a Breakthrough-Offensive Operation in his sector - which he humbly and [[InvokedTrope somewhat misleadingly attributed to]] the trope of suspicious silence. In fact, it derived from close observation of previous Soviet bombardment schedules. [[note]] In this period, Soviet offensives were always preceded by earth-shatteringly large artillery barrages on all known and suspected German artillery, AT, and machine gun positions - but due to the inexperience of the gunners, they [[StrictlyFormula tended to be too formulaic]] and whenever they were forced to rush offensive preparations [[EnforcedTrope they often re-used bombardment schedules from previous offensives]]. By taking note of these tendencies, Heinrici was able to repeatedly withdraw troops from their positions and then rush them back in time to conduct a strong defense from prepared positions against the assault by the Soviet Combined-Arms Army's assault guns + tanks + infantry. Heinrici's 'talent' faded as his opponents' skills and repertoire grew, but he had one final success during the ''Berlin Offensive'' of April 1945, when Georgy Zhukov was demoted from the Strategic role in which he excelled to Operational command of the 1st Belorussian Front. As always when he had taken Operational command, Zhukov tried to use a BoringButPractical preparatory bombardment - and was outfoxed by Heinrici, giving Ivan Konev's 2nd Ukrainian Front a head start of two days in the race for Berlin. [[/note]]

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* Germany's greatest defensive tactician of 1943-44, General Gottfried Heinrici, was famed for an almost psychic talent for predicting when a Soviet Combined-Arms Army was about to begin a Breakthrough-Offensive Operation in his sector - which he humbly and [[InvokedTrope somewhat misleadingly attributed to]] the trope of suspicious silence. In fact, it derived from close observation of previous Soviet bombardment schedules. [[note]] In this period, Soviet offensives were always preceded by earth-shatteringly large artillery barrages on all known and suspected German artillery, AT, and machine gun positions - but due to the inexperience of the gunners, they [[StrictlyFormula tended to be too formulaic]] and whenever they were forced to rush offensive preparations [[EnforcedTrope they often re-used bombardment schedules from previous offensives]]. By taking note of these tendencies, Heinrici was able to repeatedly withdraw troops from their positions and then rush them back in time to conduct a strong stronger defense from prepared positions against the assault by the Soviet Combined-Arms Army's assault guns + tanks + infantry. Heinrici's 'talent' faded as his opponents' skills and repertoire grew, but he had one final success during the ''Berlin Offensive'' of April 1945, when Georgy Zhukov was demoted from the Strategic role in which he excelled to Operational command of the 1st Belorussian Front. As always when he had taken Operational command, Zhukov tried to use a BoringButPractical preparatory bombardment - and was outfoxed by Heinrici, giving Ivan Konev's 2nd Ukrainian Front a two day head start of two days in the race for Berlin. [[/note]]

** The trope is done more seriously in season 12; to reach SArge, Donut, Lopez and Wash, the rest of the Blood Gulch Crew cause a little havoc in the military base. After some exposition is delivered, Simmons realizes that everything has gone quiet; what happened to the alarms?

* Shown happening in ''Series/TheWire'' when Herc and Carver are on stakeout duty at the Pit, to watch on the Barksdale dealing, only to find that the Pit is unusually deserted. Turns out it's because the Barksdale crew [[GoKartingWithBowser is playing a basketball game against the east side drug crew (or the teams they each get)]], hosted by Proposition Joe.

* Germany's greatest defensive tactician of 1943-44, General Gottfried Heinrici, was famed for an almost psychic talent for predicting when a Soviet Combined-Arms Army was about to begin a Breakthrough-Offensive Operation in his sector - which he humbly and [[InvokedTrope somewhat misleadingly attributed to]] the trope of suspicious silence. In this period, Soviet offensives were always preceded by earth-shatteringly large artillery barrages on all known and suspected German artillery, AT, and machine gun positions - but due to the inexperience of the gunners, they [[StrictlyFormula tended to be too formulaic]] and whenever they were forced to rush offensive preparations [[EnforcedTrope they often re-used bombardment schedules from previous offensives]]. By taking note of these tendencies, Heinrici was able to repeatedly withdraw troops from their positions and then rush them back in time to conduct a strong defense from prepared positions against the assault by the Soviet Combined-Arms Army's assault guns + tanks + infantry. Heinrici's 'talent' faded as his opponents' skills and repertoire grew, but he had one final success during the ''Berlin Offensive'' of April 1945, when Georgy Zhukov was demoted from the Strategic role in which he excelled to Operational command of the 1st Belorussian Front. As always when he had taken Operational command, Zhukov tried to use a BoringButPractical preparatory bombardment - and was outfoxed by Heinrici, giving Ivan Konev's 2nd Ukrainian Front a head start of two days in the race for Berlin.

to:

* Germany's greatest defensive tactician of 1943-44, General Gottfried Heinrici, was famed for an almost psychic talent for predicting when a Soviet Combined-Arms Army was about to begin a Breakthrough-Offensive Operation in his sector - which he humbly and [[InvokedTrope somewhat misleadingly attributed to]] the trope of suspicious silence. In fact, it derived from close observation of previous Soviet bombardment schedules. [[note]] In this period, Soviet offensives were always preceded by earth-shatteringly large artillery barrages on all known and suspected German artillery, AT, and machine gun positions - but due to the inexperience of the gunners, they [[StrictlyFormula tended to be too formulaic]] and whenever they were forced to rush offensive preparations [[EnforcedTrope they often re-used bombardment schedules from previous offensives]]. By taking note of these tendencies, Heinrici was able to repeatedly withdraw troops from their positions and then rush them back in time to conduct a strong defense from prepared positions against the assault by the Soviet Combined-Arms Army's assault guns + tanks + infantry. Heinrici's 'talent' faded as his opponents' skills and repertoire grew, but he had one final success during the ''Berlin Offensive'' of April 1945, when Georgy Zhukov was demoted from the Strategic role in which he excelled to Operational command of the 1st Belorussian Front. As always when he had taken Operational command, Zhukov tried to use a BoringButPractical preparatory bombardment - and was outfoxed by Heinrici, giving Ivan Konev's 2nd Ukrainian Front a head start of two days in the race for Berlin. [[/note]]

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